The Things We Keep
by RJane's Vindication
Summary: A long-forgotten memento is re-discovered, bringing back a memory of a special moment between brothers during a very dark time in their lives. Complete and hopelessly sappy one-shot on a brother's love for his baby brother. I hope it makes you smile-please let me know if it does!


**A/N: This is an incredibly short, sweet (and hopelessly sappy) story that stuck in my mind as I was working on my story 'Back to Yesterday.' The idea actually originated as one of Adam's memories in Chapter 1 of BTY, but it just didn't fit into that story. It wouldn't leave me alone, however, so I worked it around in my head and came up with this entirely separate short story.**

**So, anyway, here it is. I hope it makes you smile (as much as it made me smile)! Enjoy!**

**{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}**

Adam strode wearily into the house, nothing but quiet darkness greeting him. It was way past dinner time, not that he cared to eat anything anyway. The only thing calling him was his warm, soft bed as his eyes struggled to remain open. He looked guiltily at his father's desk as he passed through the front room. There was paperwork to do, and oh, how he hated paperwork. Dismissing the idea of even attempting such a thing at the late hour, he pushed the guilty thought aside and renewed his focus on climbing the stairs to his room.

He couldn't help a rueful smile and a small groan as he made his way up the steps. Every muscle in his body was protesting the upward motion. It would be just his luck that sleep would elude him; the lucky break compliments of the sharp pains searing through his body with every step. His muscles were certainly doing a good job of extracting their revenge on the young man for the punishment he had put them through.

It had been another long day for the twenty-six year old. With Pa and Hoss gone on a hunting trip for the younger's birthday, the running of the ranch had been left in Adam's capable hands. It wouldn't have been a big deal except, that with most of the hands away on a cattle drive, there weren't really enough men around in case of an emergency.

And so, naturally, fate had dictated that there be an emergency. Lightning had struck in the southern slopes, sparking a small wildfire that had caused a panic throughout the valley. Thankfully, they had been able to put the fire out, but the last few days of constant worry and little sleep had taken their toll on the eldest Cartwright son.

Adam's breath escaped in a tired moan as he pulled himself to the top of the stairs. Passing the first closed door, he tried to ignore the small sad thought that crept into his mind. His brow creased into a frown and he shook his head as he thought back on the interactions he had had with his youngest brother over the last few days. They certainly hadn't been overly pleasant.

His almost fifteen year old brother had been acting out on his infamous temper, his older brother the target of his wrath. Ever since his father and brother had left on their trip, Joe had battled Adam at every turn, his willful defiance undeniable. The real trouble had started when Adam, remembering his father's instruction to keep an eye out for his youngest brother, had forbidden Joe to join the hands on the cattle drive. The result had been a fight of epic proportions, and Joe had been pouting incessantly about it ever since. He was sullen and unresponsive when they shared company, which thankfully wasn't very often. As much as Adam didn't like it, they simply avoided each other as much as possible.

He choked out a disheartened sigh as he continued on his way to his room. He knew he shouldn't let his feelings get too hurt—it had happened before and it most certainly would happen again. His brother had always been high strung and stubborn, always trying to prove himself. His impulsive nature had gotten him into more than his fair share of trouble. The whole family had always been somewhat overprotective of him; he was the youngest and they all felt responsible for him. It had just been the way things always were.

Trying to brush the hurt feelings aside, Adam shook his head again as he entered his room and made his way to the dresser, opening the top drawer. Sticking his hand inside, he started suddenly when his hand brushed up against a small object tucked into the back corner of the drawer. He slowly pulled out a small wooden box, a puzzled frown on his face as he turned it over in his hands.

Adam pulled the cover off of the box, and his eyes widened with surprised recognition as he stared at the small object held inside. Memories began to tumble through his tired mind as he warily stretched himself out on his bed. He allowed a small smile to come to his face as he closed his eyes; suddenly he could remember that day almost ten years ago as if it had been yesterday.

{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}

Sixteen year old Adam had just ridden back to the house, another task done. There had been a lot of tasks to attend to lately, and he sighed sadly, not wanting to think about the reasons why anymore.

It had been two months since the accident. Just the word 'accident' sent an involuntary shudder of pain down his spine as he thought about the incident that had taken his stepmother's life. Two months since she had died. Two months since his father had shut himself off from his entire family. Two months that he and his brothers had been alone, trying to understand and cope with the loss of their mother. Two months since he, Adam, had had to be totally responsible.

Adam's mind had been distracted lately. He had always been close to his father, and he missed his counsel and companionship. He was weary from the constant decision-making that was required of him to run the ranch. The responsibility was overwhelming. He was, after all, only sixteen years old. Then there was the part of him that was angry, too, that his father had done this to them, to him. How much more could be expected of him, of all of them? They had gone through so much already, how much more could they take?

He had just finished taking care of his horse and was coming out of the barn when a high-pitched scream echoed through the yard, breaking the silence. His blood ran cold and his heart hammered in his throat as he took off in a sprint towards the house. Opening the door, his breath caught in a gasp as he quickly took in the scene in front of him.

He rushed to his little brother sprawled out at the foot of the stairs, sobs shaking his small body. Adam could easily see that the five year old had tripped and fallen down the last flight of stairs. He turned him over and looked into the tear-stained face. His eyes widened in slight panic as he saw the stream of blood dribbling down the little boy's chin.

The bright green eyes, blurred with tears, looked dazedly up to his older brother's concerned face as his sobs increased. Instinctively, the small boy tried to bury his head into Adam's chest, but the older boy pulled him to arms' length and studied him intently.

'Sshh, sshh, little buddy,' Adam soothed, trying to keep his voice steady even as he struggled to calm his own pounding heart. 'It's okay, it's okay. Sshh, calm down.'

His hands felt gently down his brother's back and over his arms and legs, searching for any signs of broken bones. Sighing in relief as it appeared there weren't any, he took another look at the blood coming from his brother's mouth. He pulled his handkerchief out of his pocket and dabbed at his brother's chin. The boy whimpered and pulled back, trying to bury his face in his brother's chest again. Adam cupped the small boy's chin in one hand to keep the watery green eyes focused with his own.

'Little buddy, what happened?' Adam asked in a soft voice as he finished wiping the blood from his brother's chin. He could now see that the little boy was more scared than hurt. 'Are you okay?'

Joe just stared at his brother with his large emerald eyes, the tears glistening down his cheeks as another sob caught in his throat. The distraught look in the expressive orbs caused Adam's heart to melt. He lovingly brushed a stray curl from his brother's forehead and pulled the small boy tightly to his chest. Joe responded by tightly grabbing a fold of his brother's shirt, sobbing out a mixture of hurt and relief as Adam gently rubbed his back.

It took several minutes for Joe to regain control, and Adam continued to sit on the floor with the little boy in his lap, rocking him gently in his arms. He waited patiently as the tears began to lessen. The nightmares that had constantly plagued his little brother since his mother's death had made Adam well-versed in learning how to comfort the young child. After a few minutes, Joe hiccupped through the last of his tears and let his body completely relax against his brother's strong arms and warm chest.

'Are you okay, little buddy?' Adam gently whispered again, rubbing circles on his brother's back. He looked down at the boy in his arms and noticed his brother's left fist clenched tightly shut. Curious, he pulled at his brother's hand, trying to get him to open his fist. 'What do you have there?'

Joe squirmed to break free from his brother's embrace as he tried weakly to protest. Prying open the small fist, Adam suddenly understood the reason for the blood on the little boy's chin. He pushed his brother away slightly so that he could again look into the green eyes, noting the fear still held in them. His own eyes warm, he softly whispered,

'All right, little buddy. Let me see. It's okay.'

The tears threatened again as Joe slightly shook his head, afraid he would be in trouble. But when he looked into his older brother's eyes he saw that they held no anger, only a loving concern that made the little boy feel safe. He gingerly opened his mouth and Adam smiled slightly at the newly formed gap that was confirmation of what he already knew.

'Well, will you look at that,' he said tenderly, his smile widening a little. 'Someone's managed to lose a tooth. I guess that means you're grown up now, huh?' He breathed a slight sigh of relief when his little brother let out a deep breath, mirroring his smile with a small one of his own.

Joe felt the color rising in his cheeks, and stifling a giggle, he nodded and smiled again. Adam couldn't help the grin that broke out on his face at the gap in the little boy's smile. Feeling suddenly shy, Joe buried his face in his brother's shirt again as Adam continued to hug him close.

'Well, you know what this means, don't you?' Adam whispered softly. He felt his little brother tense in his arms as he pulled his head up abruptly.

'What?' the small voice faltered as his face paled. His lower lip began to tremble and his eyes began to again fill with tears. The fear that he was in trouble came back to the small boy as he anxiously waited for his older brother's next words.

Adam suddenly wanted to kick himself at the realization that he had frightened the small boy and he hurriedly tried to think of an explanation, wanting to reassure him that everything was okay. His brain racing, he began to mutter to himself, 'Hhmm, what was that…what was it called? Oh, yes…a magical occurrence…'

'Mathical acorn?' Joe's puzzled eyes met Adam's, his brow furrowed and his face scrunching up in confusion as he tried to repeat the words.

The sudden lisp in words that resulted from the missing tooth, along with the expression of confusion on the little boy's face, made Adam want to hug him even tighter. His smile widened as he suddenly remembered the exact specifics of the children's legend he had read about in one of his books.

'Yes, well, let me explain what I mean by a magical occurrence,' he smiled, peering down at his confused brother. 'Now, I'm sure you must have heard about the tooth fairy…'

He crinkled his forehead into a mock frown as he watched the confusion on his brother's face deepen. Doing his best to act surprised, he suddenly asked, 'Wait, you've never heard of the tooth fairy?'

It took his best effort to keep his voice even as his eyebrows shot up in feigned disbelief at the head shake he received in response.

'No?' Adam shook his head in mock disbelief as he continued. 'Well, let me tell you all about it then. When a little boy, kinda like you, loses a tooth, he puts it under his pillow when he goes to sleep. Then, while he is sleeping, this magical being, what people call the tooth fairy, comes and takes the tooth. But the tooth fairy makes a trade, and when the little boy wakes up the next morning, there is a surprise for him there instead!'

He lowered his voice dramatically as he finished, looking at the little boy still sitting in his lap. Joe sat there with a dumbfounded frown on his face. Adam could barely stop from laughing aloud at his brother's expression as he saw him trying to process the story he had just heard.

'For real?' Joe asked, the skepticism evident in his voice as he tried to understand why anyone would give someone any kind of _anything_ in exchange for a tooth.

'For real,' Adam vowed solemnly, biting his lip in an effort to keep the smile off of his face. 'I've always told you the real truth, right?'

'Yeah,' Joe mumbled softly, his face relaxing as he allowed himself to accept the strange story he had just heard. Adam had always told him the truth, and so his young brain logically assumed it must be true. His green eyes began to glow with excitement as he thought about a surprise. 'What kinda surprise does the toof fairy give?'

Adam chuckled at the slight lisp as he watched his brother's eyes light up from the excitement. 'Well, it depends on how nice the tooth is,' he grinned at his brother. Reaching for Joe's small hand, he opened the fist slowly, revealing the small contents. 'Now, this one here looks really nice. If it was up to me, I'd say that this one would probably trade for a really good surprise.'

'Really?!' Joe beamed, the recent tears forgotten as his face lit up in a large smile.

'Yes, really,' Adam smiled back, the excitement evident on his brother's face becoming contagious. A warm feeling came over him for the first time since the accident as he pictured the look on his brother's face when he found the surprise. Adam knew exactly what it was going to be, too. He had purchased it a while ago, and it had just been sitting in his top drawer ever since. It was a brilliant green shooter marble, the one his brother had been staring at longingly the last time they had gone to the general store. He'd been saving it up for something special, and now seemed as good a time as any.

Later that night, Adam was tucking his brother into bed just like he always did. It was probably the first night that young Joseph Cartwright had wanted to go to bed early. His cheeks flushed, he twisted in excitement as Adam helped him place the tooth under the edge of his pillow.

Adam smiled at the restless boy, his own eyes shining as a lump formed in his throat. It had been months since the small boy had been so excited about anything. He lovingly gave his brother a tight hug as he reminded him gently,

'Now, you have to go to sleep, or else the tooth fairy won't come. Goodnight, Little Joe.'

'G'night, Adam,' Joe yawned, his eyes being pulled closed as sleep began to win out over the day's excitement. 'I love you.'

'I love you, too, little buddy,' Adam whispered softly. He lowered the lamp and moved out of the room, finding himself surprisingly eager for the small boy to fall asleep. He could hardly wait for the tooth fairy to come and give his brother the surprise.

'_Adam, ADAM!_' the excited screech woke Adam from his sleep as a small figure rushed into his room, jumped and landed right on top of him. He opened his eyes and smiled at the excited chatter, even as his body protested the rude interruption of his sleep.

'Looky, look!' Joe cried happily, bouncing up and down on his brother's stomach. He opened his clenched fist to reveal a beautiful green shooter marble.

'Wow,' Adam admired, picking the marble up and rolling it between his fingers. He placed it down on Joe's open palm and grinned knowingly at his little brother. 'See, I told you. A really nice tooth gets a really nice surprise.'

'Muh huh,' Joe agreed sleepily, his mouth stretching into a yawn as he rubbed at his eyes.

Adam smiled to himself as the bright eyes struggled to stay open, another yawn escaping as sleep pulled at the little boy. He gently pulled Joe down next to him, and his little brother responded by snuggling closer into his brother's side. Adam's fingers lovingly brushed back the curls that had fallen over Joe's forehead as the little boy's breathing slowed, telling Adam that he was asleep. Placing a soft kiss on his brother's temple, Adam closed his eyes, relishing in the warmth of his little brother next to him as sleep reclaimed him.

{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}

Adam opened his eyes and groaned as he sat up, his stiff muscles protesting the sudden movement. It took him a moment to get his bearings, and, as he looked down at the box still clenched in his hand, a small smile crept over his face. Shaking his head, he let out a sigh, putting the small box in his pocket as he stood to go downstairs to breakfast.

He sat down at the table and absently pulled the box from his pocket, turning it over in his hands. He was completely mesmerized by the repetitive motion, and he failed to notice when the slight figure of his younger brother came down the stairs and stopped behind him.

'What's that?'

The quiet voice startled Adam from his thoughts and he lifted his head towards the sound. His eyes darkened slightly at the memories of the unpleasantness of the last few days, but then widened when he saw his brother's face. For the first time in days, Joe's face held no look of annoyance, just a very real curiosity about the object in Adam's hand.

'Oh…hi, Joe,' he stammered, moving his hand quickly to slip the box back into his pocket. Joe's gaze caught and held Adam's evenly, however, and Adam felt his hand stop moving as his brother's voice asked again,

'What's that, Adam?'

'Oh, well, it's just something from a long time ago,' he replied hastily, his cheeks reddening slightly. Suddenly he felt a little embarrassed about the small object he'd kept all these years. 'It's… it's nothing.'

'Can I see?' Joe's quiet voice almost pleaded. Adam felt his resolve to refuse weakening as his younger brother continued to stare at him, and he slowly handed the box over.

Joe turned the small box over once in his hand and then opened it slowly. Adam waited as, for what seemed like minutes, Joe just sat staring at the contents of the box. He watched intently, a frown of bewilderment and confusion forming as he took in his younger brother's rather strange reaction. Just as he opened his mouth to say something, Joe's voice carried over to him softly,

'You kept it?'

Adam could hear the wobble in his brother's voice and he turned his eyes to him. Adam's breath rushed out in surprise as he saw the unshed tears forming in the bright green eyes.

'Yes,' he whispered softly, as Joe looked back down at the box in his hands and shook his head, almost as if he was trying to piece something together in his mind.

After another silent minute, Joe lifted his eyes again to his brother's face. He cleared his throat as if to speak, but again just shook his head and lowered his eyes. Adam understood the question his brother was unable to ask and gently answered,

'Because it means a lot to me. It was a good moment during a very dark time, and I cherish the memory. That's why.'

Joe nodded his bowed head in silent agreement, his eyes still staring at the open box in his hand. More silent minutes passing, he finally cleared his throat again and raised his eyes to meet his brother's.

'I'm sorry, Adam.' The quiet, simple words could not hide the obviously raw emotion.

Adam felt the corners of his mouth lift in sudden surprise. He continued to watch his brother's face, and his astonishment grew as he saw the tears forming again in his brother's green eyes. He opened his mouth to ask the obvious question when Joe's voice continued, stopping him.

'No, I mean it, Adam. I'm sorry. Sorry for all of it,' Joe rushed, tears beginning to trickle down his cheeks. 'I was so angry at you for telling me I couldn't go on that drive…I just wanted to get back at you. I know you were only doing what Pa asked, but I didn't care. I haven't been a real brother to you lately, and I'm sorry. Can you forgive me?'

Adam felt his heart twist as he looked into the pleading eyes. The lump in his throat making him unable to speak, he just nodded his head mutely. Joe smiled then, a small smile as he wiped at his wet cheeks with the back of his hand. Trembling fingers pushed the small box back into Adam's hand as Joe stood up from the table.

Adam kept his eyes glued on the box, trying to get his own emotions under control, when he felt a soft hand on his shoulder. His brother's hand found his and gently pushed a smooth object into his open palm. Adam could feel the tears forming in his eyes as his mouth gaped open at the sight of a brilliant green shooter marble sitting there in his hand.

'You kept it?' He could hear his voice quaver as the tears threatened to spill down his cheeks. The threat became a reality when he heard the soft reply.

'Yeah. You see, it was a good moment during a very dark time. Someone I love very much gave it to me, and I cherish the memory. Thanks, big brother. For everything.'

**{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}**

**I told you-hopelessly sappy. I realized after I finished writing this that it might be a little weird for Adam to keep 'the object,' but I thought it was too cute to pass up on the idea! I would love to know if there are any other 'hopeless sappy happy ending people' out there :) Thanks for reading!**


End file.
